JCPenny’s Failure With Service Technology
Introduction
Correctly implementing technology in any service industry is vital to the level of performance the company can provide. When utilizing service technology, it is not necessary to incorporate sophisticated and exaggerated technologies and features. Rather, focusing on key areas to promote the best impact on the service’s value chain is more important. This service experience, however, failed to meet key service technology expectations that led many customers, including myself, to a dissatisfied experience. After a visit to JCPenney’s Kearney location, I left with a great deal of dissatisfaction with their misuse of technology.
Description of Events
I had browsed the selection for some time and found a few articles of clothing that I enjoyed, but I could not find my size. I asked an employee if she could locate my size either in the back or if I could find it in another section. She searched while I browsed some more, however, she was unable to find it. I had written down the SKU number of another article of clothing I had found previously and asked her to locate this item. She was unable to direct me to this item as well. She was unable to find any of the items I had inquired about, which was frustrating due to the lack of experience or ability she portrayed. After my encounter with the unhelpful employee, I browsed some more and decided on a few items. Upon going to checkout, I realized their POS system had failed. The line grew long while the manager was on the phone with support. They had no fallback plan for a scenario such as this. The employees were left helpless while customers grew frustrated and left rather than making purchases. After quite a bit of time, they managed to finally get the system back on track, but it had proven damaging already. Upon arriving home, I became more frustrated than I was with the experience at the store. The employee who rang up my purchases had failed to remove the security tag from some of my clothing. So, I was forced to return to the store and wait in line again just to have them remove the tag. I understand people make mistakes, which is why I try to be understanding with minor inconveniences such as this. However, after already leaving the store frustrated, I found it difficult to feel understanding. Addressing the Technology Some of this scenario may not seem like major service technology aspects, such as the employee not being able to locate items. However, it is service technology that can address this issue. How could JCPenny have improved their use of service technology to help locate my requested items? To answer this, I will first discuss how the Spanish clothing company Zara addresses this issue. Zara makes use of RFID tags that allow them to track their inventory quickly and easily. Employees use custom applications on company handheld devices to search their inventory, determine if an item is in stock, and walk customers to the exact location of the item. All the company’s products are pre-processed; In the factory, prior to shipping, each article of …show more content…
However, customers being able to walk out of the store with these still attached brings up the topic of shoplifting. JCPenny should incorporate some extra security measures to ensure that these devices are not allowed to leave the building. There could be legal implications to my suggestion, however, I am sure there are ways to incorporate a similar solution. Current security tags are secured using a metal strip that is magnetized and demagnetized while another is magnetostrictive. The magnetostrictive strip will vibrate even after a pulsed signal stops transmitting, which is then picked up from the detector to stop shoplifting (Williams, 2017). What I suggest is to incorporate a redesigned security tag that utilizes RFID as well as the current technology. If the RFID signal transmitted from the product is detected within a certain range of the door, then security measures would be taken. This could include triggering magnetic locks on the door to prevent exit. Again, this poses legal issues and would need to be investigated, however, I feel implementing some sort of additional measure while utilizing RFID tags to be
Introduction
Correctly implementing technology in any service industry is vital to the level of performance the company can provide. When utilizing service technology, it is not necessary to incorporate sophisticated and exaggerated technologies and features. Rather, focusing on key areas to promote the best impact on the service’s value chain is more important. This service experience, however, failed to meet key service technology expectations that led many customers, including myself, to a dissatisfied experience. After a visit to JCPenney’s Kearney location, I left with a great deal of dissatisfaction with their misuse of technology.
Description of Events
I had browsed the selection for some time and found a few articles of clothing that I enjoyed, but I could not find my size. I asked an employee if she could locate my size either in the back or if I could find it in another section. She searched while I browsed some more, however, she was unable to find it. I had written down the SKU number of another article of clothing I had found previously and asked her to locate this item. She was unable to direct me to this item as well. She was unable to find any of the items I had inquired about, which was frustrating due to the lack of experience or ability she portrayed. After my encounter with the unhelpful employee, I browsed some more and decided on a few items. Upon going to checkout, I realized their POS system had failed. The line grew long while the manager was on the phone with support. They had no fallback plan for a scenario such as this. The employees were left helpless while customers grew frustrated and left rather than making purchases. After quite a bit of time, they managed to finally get the system back on track, but it had proven damaging already. Upon arriving home, I became more frustrated than I was with the experience at the store. The employee who rang up my purchases had failed to remove the security tag from some of my clothing. So, I was forced to return to the store and wait in line again just to have them remove the tag. I understand people make mistakes, which is why I try to be understanding with minor inconveniences such as this. However, after already leaving the store frustrated, I found it difficult to feel understanding. Addressing the Technology Some of this scenario may not seem like major service technology aspects, such as the employee not being able to locate items. However, it is service technology that can address this issue. How could JCPenny have improved their use of service technology to help locate my requested items? To answer this, I will first discuss how the Spanish clothing company Zara addresses this issue. Zara makes use of RFID tags that allow them to track their inventory quickly and easily. Employees use custom applications on company handheld devices to search their inventory, determine if an item is in stock, and walk customers to the exact location of the item. All the company’s products are pre-processed; In the factory, prior to shipping, each article of …show more content…
However, customers being able to walk out of the store with these still attached brings up the topic of shoplifting. JCPenny should incorporate some extra security measures to ensure that these devices are not allowed to leave the building. There could be legal implications to my suggestion, however, I am sure there are ways to incorporate a similar solution. Current security tags are secured using a metal strip that is magnetized and demagnetized while another is magnetostrictive. The magnetostrictive strip will vibrate even after a pulsed signal stops transmitting, which is then picked up from the detector to stop shoplifting (Williams, 2017). What I suggest is to incorporate a redesigned security tag that utilizes RFID as well as the current technology. If the RFID signal transmitted from the product is detected within a certain range of the door, then security measures would be taken. This could include triggering magnetic locks on the door to prevent exit. Again, this poses legal issues and would need to be investigated, however, I feel implementing some sort of additional measure while utilizing RFID tags to be